Diary of a Podcaster Part 2

A week on from my last post on this subject, I have decided to script the entire of my solo podcast. It won’t be one hundred percent verbatim but I need to get the lion share of my thoughts down prior to recording. I discovered over several recording sessions that I continuously think of additional points to add as I’m speaking. The net result is having to constantly stop and start Audacity, the program I use for recording, as well as having to research extra points on the fly. Again, I was not happy with the finished product as you could frequently hear the hesitation or more to the point, the frustration in my voice. So, I’ve returned to the idea of having well fleshed out notes with some sections such as the introduction, written out in their entirety.

With regard to the second new podcast that I’m producing, this is a discussion or chat show that requires a guest on each episode. Although I have several lined up, the main problem always comes down to scheduling a convenient time for all parties to meet online and record. I must admit that at present the main obstacle is myself, as my schedule has been somewhat busy of late. I’m also still working on collating a list of cogent questions and points of discuss. However, the main objective of the new show is to focus upon the guests and encourage them to talk about themselves and their experiences. The key to a good show of this kind is to coax them in to holding forth with some subtle lines of enquiry.

In other podcast news, I have decided to subscribed to Zencastr as it has proven to be an invaluable product over the last year. While the program was in development myself and Brian relied upon it regularly for the recording of the Burton & Scrooge Podcast. Not once did we have a recording fail. As a result, I have decided to pay for the Pro package available for $20 a month (after a 14-day free trial) which offers a wealth of facilities. These include Unlimited Guests, Unlimited Recordings, Live Editing Soundboard, Record in High Quality MP3, Record in 16-bit 44.1k WAV and 10 Hours Automatic Postproduction per month. I’m very keen to try the soundboard feature and integrate stings and bumpers in to the show while recording, rather than in post-production.

I was toying with the idea of making a formal announcement about both new podcasts on Contains Moderate Peril, in the pious hope that it would force my hand to produce both shows as quickly as possible. I was initially considering producing both monthly, however the reality of the situation is that, like Gandalf, they’ll arrives precisely when they mean to. Sometimes you just have to embrace the capricious nature of one’s life and accept the fact that you can’t do everything that you want at the pace you dictate. So, in the meantime, I would advise you all to listen the Scrooge Uncut; Brian’s new podcast. He has already posted an update to the first episode and has more material waiting in the wings. My shows are still very much in development.